Sannyāsa Initiation of Viraha Prakāśa Swami – February 5, 1976, Māyāpur

Anantaram Sastriji: [chants mantras for fire sacrifice; devotees loudly chanting japa] [break]

Prabhupada: ...sri-visnu [devotees repeat], sri-visnu [devotees repeat]. Now you get the sloka on. Sannyasi come. You chant this mantra. Etam [devotees repeat]. Chant, they will repeat.

Tamala Krsna: Etam [devotees repeat], sa asthaya [devotees repeat]...

Prabhupada: Not all. Only sannyasis.

Hrdayananda: Only sannyasis chant.

Tamala Krsna: Etam [Prabhupada and devotees repeat after each word], sa asthaya paratma-adhyasitam pūrvatamair maharsibhiḥ aham tarisyami duranta param tamo, mukundahghri niseyevayaiva [SB 11.23.57].

Prabhupada: Translation and purport.

Tamala Krsna: Translation and purport.

Prabhupada: You can come...

Tamala Krsna: Translation: "This was spoken by a brahmana from Avanti desa. 'I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of nescience by being firmly fixed in the service of the lotus feet of Krsna. This was approved by the previous acaryas, who are fixed in firm devotion to the Lord, Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.' " Purport. "In connection with this verse, which is a quotation from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Eleventh Canto, Twenty-third Chapter, [sic] fifty-eighth verse, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that of the sixty-four items required for rendering devotional service, acceptance of the symbolic marks of sannyasa is a regulative principle. If one accepts the sannyasa order, his main business is to devote his life completely to the service of Mukunda, Krsna. If one does not completely devote his mind and body to the service of the Lord, he does not actually become a sannyasi. It is not simply a matter of changing dress. In Bhagavad-gita, Sixth Chapter, first verse, it is also stated, anasritaḥ karma-phalam karyam karma karoti yaḥ, sa sannyasi ca yogi ca: [Bg 6.1] 'One who works devotedly for the satisfaction of Krsna is a sannyasi.' The dress is not sannyasa, but the attitude of service to Krsna is. "The word paramatma nistha means being a devotee of Lord Krsna. Paratma-vigraha. Paratma, the Supreme Person, is Krsna. Īsvaraḥ paramaḥ krsnaḥ sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaḥ [Bs 5.1].

Those who are completely dedicated to the lotus feet of Krsna in service are actually sannyasis. As a matter of formality, the devotee accepts the sannyasa dress as previous acaryas did. He also accepts the three danḍas. Later, Visnu Svami considered that accepting the dress of a tridanḍa was paratma-nistha. Therefore sincere devotees add another danḍa, the jiva danḍa, to the three existing danḍas. The Vaisnava sannyasi is known as tridanḍi-sannyasi. The Mayavadi sannyasi accepts only one danḍa, not understanding the purpose of tridanḍa. Later, many persons in the community of Siva Svami gave up the atma-nistha, devotional service of the Lord, and followed the paths of Sahkaracarya. Instead of accepting 108 names, those in the Siva Svami sampradaya follow the path of Sahkaracarya and accept the ten names of sannyasa. Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the then existing order of sannyasa, namely ekadanḍa, He still recited from Srimad-Bhagavatam about the tridanḍa-sannyasa accepted by the brahmana of Avantipura. Indirectly He declared that within the ekadanḍa [one danḍa], four danḍas existed as one. Accepting ekadanḍa sannyasa without paratma-nistha, devotional service to Lord Krsna, is not acceptable to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In addition, according to the exact regulative principles, one should add the jiva-danḍa to the tridanḍa. These four danḍas bound together as one are symbolic of unalloyed devotional service to the Lord. Because the ekadanḍi-sannyasis of the Mayavada school are not devoted to the service of Krsna, they try to merge into the Brahman effulgence, which is a marginal position between material and spiritual existence. They accept this impersonal position as liberation. Mayavadi sannyasis, not knowing that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a tridanḍi, think of Caitanya Mahaprabhu as an ekadanḍi sannyasi. This is due to their vivarta, bewilderment. In Srimad-Bhagavatam there is no such thing as ekadanḍi sannyasi. Indeed, the tridanḍi-sannyasi is accepted as the symbolic representation of the sannyasa order. By citing this verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the sannyasa order recommended in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Mayavadi sannyasis, who are enamored of the external energy of the Lord, cannot understand the mind of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

"To date, all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, following in His footsteps, accept the sannyasa order and keep the sacred thread and tuft of unshaved hair. The ekadanḍi-sannyasis of the Mayavadi school give up the sacred thread and do not keep any tuft of hair. Therefore they are unable to understand the purport of tridanḍa-sannyasa, and as such, they are not inclined to dedicate their lives to the service of Mukunda. They simply think of merging into the existence of Brahman because of their disgust with material existence. The acaryas who advocate the daiva-varnasrama, the social order of catur-varnyam mentioned in Bhagavad-gita, do not accept the proposition of asura-varnasrama, which maintains the social code of varna is indicated by birth.

"The most intimate devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, namely Gadadhara Panḍita, accepted tridanḍa-sannyasa and also accepted Madhava Upadhyaya as his tridanḍi-sannyasi disciple. It is said that from this Madhvacarya the sampradaya known in Western India as Vallabhacarya sampradaya has begun. Srila Gopala Bhatta Vasu, who is known as smrti-acarya in the Gauḍiya Vaisnava sampradaya, later accepted the tridanḍa-sannyasa from Tridanḍipada Prabodhananda Sarasvati. Although acceptance of tridanḍa-sannyasa is not distinctly mentioned in the Gauḍiya Vaisnava literature, the first verse of Srila Rūpa Gosvami's Upadesamrta advocates that one should accept the tridanḍa-sannyasa order by controlling the six forces:

" 'One who can control the forces of speech, mind, anger, belly, tongue and genitals is known as a gosvami and is competent to accept disciples all over the world.' The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu never accepted the Mayavada order of sannyasa, and for this, they cannot be blamed. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted Sridhara Swami, who was a tridanḍi sannyasi, but the Mayavada sannyasis, not understanding Sridhara Swami, sometimes think that Sridhara Swami belonged to the Mayavada ekadanḍa sannyasa community. Actually this was not the case."

Prabhupada: So you should understand the purpose of taking sannyasa by the example given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam,

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was resident of this place where you are taking sannyasa. So what was the purpose of His taking sannyasa? He was very respectable brahmana, Nimai Panḍita. This tract of land, Navadvipa, is the place of highly educated brahmanas from time immemorial. So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu belonged to a very respectable brahmana family, the son of Jagannatha Misra; His grandfather, Nilambara Cakravarti. Very respectful, respectable persons. He took birth in that family. Personally He was very beautiful; therefore His another name is Gaurasundara. And He was very learned scholar also; therefore His another name is Nimai Panḍita. So, and in His family life He had very nice, beautiful young wife, Visnupriya, and very affectionate mother, and He was very influential. You know that. In one day He collected about one hundred thousand followers to protest against the Kazi's order. So in this way His social position was very favorable. Personal position was very favorable. Still, He took sannyasa, left home. Why? Dayitaye: in order to favor, in order to show mercy to the fallen souls of the world. So He left a legacy that anyone who has taken birth in India,

So He exhibited personally how to do para-upakara, welfare to others, fallen souls. So this sannyasa means following the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that,

So not only... We are trying to create a position that not only the Indians have got this responsibility, but according to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, anyone-prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama -they should take up this missionary work. And I am so much obliged to you, you American boys and girls also, that you have taken this Krsna consciousness movement very seriously. And by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu you are taking sannyasa, some of you. Keep it very perfectly and go from town to town, city to city, village to village, all over the world and spread this Krsna consciousness movement so that everyone will be happy. People are very much suffering. They, because they are mūḍhas, rascals, they do not know how to adjust living condition in human form. This is the bhagavata-dharma everywhere. So the human form is not to become a dog, hog, pig. You should become a perfect human being. Suddhyet sattva. [SB 5.5.1] Purify your existence. Why you are subjected to birth, death, old age and disease? Because we are impure. Now, if we purify our existence, then there will be no such thing as birth, death, old age and disease. That is the version of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krsna Himself. Simply by understanding Krsna, you become purified and you escape the contamination of birth, death, old age and disease.

So try to convince the people in general, the philosophers, the religionists. We have no such thing, sectarian view. Anyone can join this movement and become purified himself. Janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara . So I am very much pleased. You have given already service to the society. Now you take up sannyasa and preach all over the world so that people may be benefited.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Prabhupada: The danḍa. Take this and offer obeisances. So add to your name "Swami," that's all. What is his name?

Devotee: Viraha.

Prabhupada: Viraha. Viraha Prakasa Swami. Bow down. Viraha Prakasa. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the symbolic of viraha prakasa. Govinda-virahena me. He says, sūnyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me [Siksastaka 7]. That is viraha-prakasa, that "Everything is vacant for me without Govinda." That is called viraha. So we should be mad after Govinda. That is govinda-virahena me. Sūnyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna.

Devotees: Jaya Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: So I can go you can proceed.

Dayananda: [annouces] The forgoing was a sannyasa initiation ceremony held on 5th of February 1976 in Mayapur. [end]